Sunset
by MeanMrsMustard
Summary: The best part of her life was also the hardest. She loved that pony with all her heart, but she didn't know if the pony loved her back, or even realized.  Oneshot. My first Friendship is Magic fic.
1. Chapter 1

First MLP: FiM fanfic! Don't hate on me!

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I have a problem. A really big problem.

You see, a little while ago, maybe two or three weeks after Winter Wrap-up, a really cool pony moved into Cloudsdale. She was about 35% cooler than anypony else I knew, and that's saying something.

Before she moved in, I didn't have a best friend. When I was a filly, I had one - Gilda - but that ship has sailed. I had a pretty decent group of friends - Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Twilight, Ditzy, Rarity, Lyra - but none of them was that close to me. If I had to pick, I'd go with Applejack or maybe Pinkie, but they each have their own catches. Overexposure to Pinkie Pie can be hazardous to your health, and Applejack and I sometimes get on each other's it comest to pegasi, I have the same luck. I think Ditzy's scared of me, even though she flew the _right _way last Winter Wrap-up, and Fluttershy is, well, Fluttershy.

That's why my life became so much better when Sunset moved into Cloudsdale.

I had just finished clearing the sky. It had been raining for a week, in order to give the crops a head start, and we were finally able to clear the clouds away and enjoy the sunshine. The sky looked a little boring with no clouds in it, so I spread a rainbow across it as a finishing touch.

I was admiring my handiwork when Ditzy Doo crashed into me. She paused to look at the rainbow, and said, "Nice work, Rainbow Dash. I think that's your best yet!"

"Thanks, Ditzy," I replied. "What do you want?"

"Oh, there's a new pony moving into Cloudsdale. That's why everypony else ditched the cloud-clearing and you had to do it on your own. Sorry about that."

"No problem! I can clear the sky on my own in ten seconds flat, you know. So it's no prob. I just took my time today. So, who's the new pony in town?"

"See for yourself."

Sure enough, I could see a pegasus flying in. A good flyer. Not as fast as me, but more graceful.

"Well, that's it, Rainbow. I've gotta go - the mail and all. See you around!"

Seconds after Ditzy Doo left, the new pony showed up. She was about the same color as Fluttershy, except her coat was shinier. Her eyes were golden, and her mane was amazing. It was deep orange, except it wasn't uniform. It was redder on her head, and it got yellower at her tail. Her cutie mark looked sort of like an orange cloud.

"Hey," I said. "You must be the new pony."

"That's right. I just moved in from Sun River. My name is Sunset. What's yours?"

"Rainbow Dash. So, what do you do? I thought Celestia set the sun."

"Oh, she does. I just color the sky orange. Then my brother Dusky colors it light blue. After that, some other ponies make it really dark for the moon and stars."

"Wow, that's a pretty cool job. All I do is organize the weather. And that's just in Ponyville."

"Well, Rainbow - hey, aren't you the one who won the Best Young Flyer competition? And saved the Wonderbolts? And did a Sonic - "

"Yeah, but, you know…" I felt kind of embarrassed. Usually, I enjoyed being the center of attention, but I got more than enough from Scootaloo alone.

"That's pretty cool. Hey, do you mind if we're friends?"

"No. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. I don't have that many friends. Even back in Sun River. You see, where I'm from, you have to ask to be friends. Ponies there are a lot touchier."

"Hey, it's no problem. Speaking of friends, do you want to meet mine?"

I introduced her to my friends, and they all enjoyed her company. But after some time, I started to realize that we were closer than most other ponies. For a time, Pinkie Pie got jealous of her, but once she realized that Sunset wasn't another Gilda, she was cool.

But lately, I've been picking up on something. One day, Twilight asked me why I thought Sunset was such a great flyer.

"I mean, yeah, she's pretty good. But you make it sound like she could give you a run for your bits at a flying competition."

That was when I realized she showed off for only me. Around anypony else, she was only above average. But around me, she was spectacular.

I put it together slowly. She showed off for me. She knew nearly everything about me. She looked for excuses to spend time with me. Whenever we were spending time together and I looked over at her, she was always looking at me.

Sunset had a crush on me.

Suddenly, I felt guilty that I didn't feel the same way. I couldn't if I tried. Your feelings aren't something you can flip a switch and change. If you like somepony who doesn't like you back, you can't change your mind. And if somepony you don't like back likes you, you can't fake yourself into liking them.

Every time I see her now, I want to say, "Sunset, you're my best friend. And I know you have a crush on me. But I don't feel the same way. I'm sorry. I hope we can still be friends." But I always stop. I don't want to see the look on her face when I break her heart.

Well, I've had it. I can't keep lying. Tomorrow, I'm telling her.

I just hope she can forgive me.


	2. Chapter 2

This story was intended to be a oneshot. However, people have subscribed and asked for more, so…

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Back in Sun River where I used to live, other ponies made fun of me because I was different. It wasn't anything big, like wings too small to fly or an extra head. And they didn't pounce on me like a horde of hungry griffons when an injured earth pony wanders into their midst. It was a bunch of little things. They added up, and so did the "small" things the others did to me. The casual insults. The funny looks. The names - always said behind my back. The most severe was the flying away whenever I showed up.

_What did I do to deserve this?_ I would ask my mother this, flying home crying from a hard day of school. When I moved out and there was nopony to fly crying to, I would ask myself. (It sounds lonely, but I was used to it. Pegasi are more solitary than other ponies.)

The answer was, of course, nothing. You can blame biology for most of my problems. I was lanky. I wasn't as colorful as the other ponies. I was a Blank Flank for the longest time of anypony in my class. When I finally got my Cutie Mark, the other ponies made fun of it because it wasn't as cute as theirs. It looked like an orange rainbow shape on my flank. Most other ponies' Cutie Marks were specific objects; mine was of the setting sun, which is kind of hard to depict.

And, of course, I liked another filly. Snowflake. Her icy blue coat and silvery-white mane set my heart on fire, even though now I realize it was just a school-filly crush. All the other fillies had their hearts set on Swiftfeather, but only because Spitfire was his mom. But the facts remained: the other fillies liked colts, and I liked fillies. It was just one more reason to torment Sunset.

When I moved to Cloudsdale, I was prepared to be ostracized again. Luckily, that's not too much of a problem for grown-up mares as it is for little fillies.

I was wrong. It seemed like everyone welcomed me - no, it was like my arrival was a holiday. Like my very presence was cause for celebration. It felt like hundreds of excited pegasi shook my hoof and said, "Welcome to Cloudsdale!" I was getting tired.

But then I saw her. Rainbow Dash. As she herself says, they don't call her "Rainbow" and "Dash" for nothing. Her mane and tail were rainbow-striped, and when she flew quickly, she left a rainbow trail. And she was the fastest non-Wonderbolt in Equestria. When the Wonderbolts let her in - which they _will_- she will be the fastest Wonderbolt.

It was love at first sight. She was beautiful. Plus, she was nice without being sappy. She had a rough edge, but once you got on her good side, she'd fly to the moon to rescue you. Every moment I spent with her was the new best moment of my life. I started showing her every flying trick I could do. Most other ponies didn't ever see how good of a flier I was, or my soft side, or any of what I considered to be my good traits. Rainbow Dash was different. Rainbow deserved to see it. Sure, one might say I was showing off. But I was really showing how much I loved her.

I think she's started to pick up on my feelings, and I'm getting worried. I'm afraid that she doesn't return my feelings. If she was any other pony, I'd be nervous that she won't want to be my friend any more - but this is Rainbow Dash I'm talking about. She doesn't turn on anypony. What I fear is worse - that our friendship would sour and turn awkward. That she'll try to pretend she likes me, or she'll start giving me funny looks.

Of course, it's not like I haven't had any opportunities to tell her how I feel. I've had plenty. But I'm nervous about talking. _Showing_ is easier.

Things are going to change. The next time I see Rainbow Dash, I'm going to tell her I like her, whether she likes me or not.


End file.
